Sunday, January 27, 2013

Dare to Dream…Change the World: A Poetry Contest for Kids

Back in 2011, I wrote a blog post about, Dare to Dream…Change the World, a poetry anthology that was to be published in the fall
of 2012. The book was edited by Jill Corcoran and published by Kane Miller.

Here is Jill’s description of Dare to Dream from the
book’s website:

Dare to Dream … Change the
World pairs biographical and inspirational poems focusing
on people who invented something, stood for something, said something, who
defied the naysayers and not only changed their own lives, but the lives of
people all over the world.

Janet Wong and I “paired” to write
poems about the experience of an older woman who had contracted polio when she was youngand Dr. Jonas Salk, respectively. I
chose Salk as my subject because I remember how frightened parents were back in
the 1950s that their children might contract the dread disease—one that had
crippled so many. Highly infectious, poliomyelitis—also known as infantile
paralysis—chiefly affected children.

Jonas Salk changed the world for me and millions of others when he developed a polio vaccine that was both safe and effective.

About Me

I worked as an elementary school teacher for more than three decades and as a school librarian for three years. I also taught a children's literature course at Boston University from 2002-2008. I am now retired and write poetry for children. I currently serve as a member of the NCTE Poetry Committee.